From Design Thinking to Strategic Foresight: The Journey of Mark Bryan, Senior Foresight Manager at FTSG

[Source - IIDA]

Being a foresighted person is a blessing by the almighty. The skill has become crucial in the business sector as one needs to calculate or predict scenarios. There are a lot of sectors where organizations need proactive leaders who can take the lead & make calculated decisions backed by the analyzation of potential risks. A similar leader is Mark Bryan, Senior Foresight Manager at Future Today Strategy Group (FTSG), who is a stalwart of managing multiple sectors like Hospitality, Retail, Supply Chain, Restaurants & CPG practices. 

The Early Years: A Foundation in Design and Human Behavior

Before stepping into the world of foresight, Mark Bryan spent nearly two decades as a commercial designer. His work spanned various sectors—including workplace, healthcare, multi-family housing, hospitality, and higher education—where he developed a deep understanding of the built environment. His design philosophy was always rooted in human-centricity. He was known for going beyond surface-level aesthetics to create environments that truly responded to the psychological and social needs of the people using them.

During his time at MA Design in Ohio, where he served as Director of Innovation + Research and Senior Interior Designer, Mark began to see a gap between design and long-term strategic planning. Clients wanted more than just beautiful spaces—they wanted to future-proof their investments, understand the implications of emerging trends, and be prepared for what's next. This insight served as the catalyst for his career pivot.

The Transition: Bridging Design with Foresight

Realizing that the tools of strategic foresight could fill this gap, Mark deepened his studies and practice in future thinking methodologies. These included trend mapping, scenario planning, and horizon scanning—disciplines that allowed him to guide clients through uncertainty. This transition was seamless given his design background, as both design and foresight require empathy, systems thinking, and a deep curiosity about how people live, work, and interact.

Joining FTSG marked a significant shift in his professional trajectory. At Future Today Strategy Group, he leads multiple verticals including the Built Environment, Hospitality, Retail, Supply Chain, Restaurants, and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG). These are not just buzzwords on his resume—they represent tangible ecosystems that Mark and his team explore through the lens of strategic foresight, helping businesses navigate through technological disruption, changing consumer expectations, and global uncertainties.

Diverse Clientele, Singular Vision

Mark's client portfolio reads like a who's who of influential organizations: national foundations, global CPG giants, international retail brands, higher education institutions, healthcare systems, multi-family housing developers, nonprofits, and more. These clients come to FTSG for a specific reason—they want to better understand the future so they can shape it.

Mark's work often involves deep collaboration with leadership teams to rethink existing paradigms. For instance, in the healthcare sector, he's helped clients reimagine patient experience through better facility design and digital integration. In retail, he's worked with international brands to navigate shifting consumer behaviors accelerated by digital transformation and sustainability demands.

Exploring the Future: Key Focus Areas

Mark's foresight work spans a wide array of focus areas, making him a rare generalist with deep domain expertise. Some of his core research and advisory themes include:

• The future of communities and urban housing
• Innovations in product development cycles
• Certification, testing, and compliance
• The evolving needs of parents and children
• Digital interaction design and UX strategy
• Global supply chain resilience and automation
• Workplace transformation post-COVID
• Immersive experiences in hospitality and retail
• Urban planning and smart city design
• Artificial intelligence and its cross-industry implications

These themes are not theoretical musings but action-oriented strategies tailored to the unique needs of his clients. By integrating strategic foresight into business planning, Mark ensures that organizations are not just reacting to change, but actively preparing for it.

A Respected Thought Leader

[Source - Instagram]

Beyond consulting, Mark Bryan has established himself as a respected speaker and educator. His recent talk at SXSW 2025 on AI's impact on smart cities attracted widespread acclaim, highlighting his ability to connect complex, emerging topics with real-world business strategies. He also regularly contributes to industry publications and foresight think tanks, where his insights into design, digital transformation, and strategic foresight continue to influence industry dialogues.

Empowering Teams with Strategic Foresight

Mark's influence extends into team building and organizational development. He strongly believes that foresight should not reside in silos but should be democratized across functions. At FTSG, he leads cross-functional workshops that empower C-suite leaders, managers, and innovation teams to internalize foresight tools and apply them to their daily strategic operations.

These sessions often include:

• Trend Identification and Mapping
• Scenario Planning
• Visioning Exercises
• Systems Thinking and Complexity Mapping
• Impact/Uncertainty Analysis

This practical approach ensures that foresight is not a theoretical exercise but a strategic advantage.

Strategic Foresight in Action: A U.S. Business Imperative

[Source - Mc knights senior living]

Mark's work is especially relevant to the U.S. business environment. With geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainties, workforce shifts, and rapid technological advancement, American companies need frameworks to make sense of change. Strategic foresight offers that framework.

In recent projects, Mark has helped:

• A global CPG company rethink its packaging strategy in light of new environmental regulations.
• A senior living organization prepare for the aging U.S. population by designing adaptive living environments.
• A national restaurant chain anticipate shifts in customer behavior driven by AI-based personalization and delivery platforms.

These examples illustrate how strategic foresight is no longer a "nice to have" but a business imperative for growth and risk mitigation.

Conclusion

As the Senior Foresight Manager at FTSG, Mark Bryan is not just helping companies survive change—he's helping them harness it. His journey from commercial designer to foresight strategist is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary thinking and lifelong learning. For CEOs, startup founders, and MNC managers, Mark's career offers a blueprint for how to embed strategic foresight into the DNA of an organization. In an age where tomorrow arrives faster than expected, having someone like Mark Bryan on your strategic bench isn't just advantageous—it's transformative.

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